Business Portuguese: Analyzing students’ preferences

Business Portuguese courses are growing in demand as Portuguese-speaking countries develop economically and as Portuguese language becomes one of the most used languages on social media. While teaching in Ireland, I noticed that teaching resources for Business Portuguese were scarce and that very few studies were being done to improve this situation. That led me to conduct my own study on Business Portuguese courses focusing on course analysis and students’ feedback.

In this NOBLE webinar and post I share the results of that research. A website analysis indicated that very few free websites provide Business Portuguese content. In addition, a survey applied to Business Portuguese students showed that even though courses in general provide a good variety of written learning resources, they often neglect the development of speaking skills and intercultural competence. Students suggest for future courses more focus on interaction with native speakers and more debate on cultural topics related to Business Portuguese. With all this in mind, I shared an example activity (see image below) for an online Business Portuguese course at the intermediate level that emphasises the importance of intercultural competence in International business.

How about you? Do you find it difficult to get Business Portuguese resources for your classes? Do you create your own teaching materials? What about Intercultural Competence, do you think it plays an important role in Business Language Teaching? In your opinion what kind of activities are best to develop Intercultural Competence?

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